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Thursday, October 7, 2010

My great fall clean up

Well, Stink Eye Sister went and messed up all my grand plans. I was all set to hire her as my assistant, and she went and got another “real” job.

WHAT-ev.

Seriously, would you rather be at my beck and call, helping my clean my house, work on house projects and running my errands, or would you rather have a cushy, well-paying desk job??

WHAT-ev. I KNOW. I would totally pick the cushy job too. But I am SO much more fun!!

Grumble.

;)

Anyhoo – she starts her new job soon, so I have taken her prisoner offered her money if she would spend her last days of freedom helping me get our house in order…for once and all.

Like everyone, when January comes around every year, I’m on a mission to to declutter and clean our whole house. I started off with a bang – earlier this year, I took three (SUV!) car loads to a local shelter.

I’ve kept going here and there throughout the year decluttering, but then something happened that quite literally changed my life.

We lost my father-in-law a couple of months ago, and the process of going through his home completely changed me. We were so overwhelmed in our mourning, but at the same time, we have had to address a house full of memories, a lifetime of things. For the past few weeks, I’ve focused on decluttering with a new outlook.

All I’ve been able to think of while in the process is how I don’t want my stepdaughter and our son to have to do go through all of the STUFF in our house when we’re gone one day. I picture them in our home, and I think about their grief, and I know the very last thing they’ll want to be burdened with is our STUFF.

Like I said, it’s changed my life. I haven’t shopped at a Goodwill for more than two months. I shop completely differently now. And it has been so much easier to let go of the things we don’t need.

You all know how much I love STUFF. I just don’t want the stuff we don’t need, use or treasure to weigh down our lives.

(And yes, God willing, it will be a LONG time before our children would have to go through our home, but that thought is still stuck in my head and it’s never leaving.)

So…with an extra set of hands for two weeks, I came up with a plan. I wanted to tackle the problem areas of our home that are kind of bigger than life – and use the help while I had it.

OK, not quite that bad, but pretty bad. Like, four carloads to Goodwill and three large garbage bins FULL -- bad.

UNREAL.

HOW in the WORLD do we accumulate so much CRAP??? It is blowing my mind.

We’re thisclose to being done with this project, and I can’t wait to show you. It will never cease to amaze me how a decluttered space seems to make our whole life go smoother. I love it.

My plan for next week is to address our deck. It was so smokin’ hot this summer, it was insane. We spent so little time out there, which really bummed me out because we so enjoyed it so last summer when we made it into this beautiful space:

Gorgeous, eh?

Well, now it looks like this:

Wha wa wa wa…wha wa wa wa wa wa waaaa…

Sing it with me!

HA! Lemme just tell you -- our neighbors LOVE US.

And oh yes, I will show you the before pictures. I’m not suffering through this alone. :)

And finally…if there’s time…I will submit my sister to the messiest space of all -- our master closet.

It’s so bad I couldn’t even bring myself to take a picture to show you.

THAT BAD.

It’s so bad that when I searched “messy closets” online, I couldn’t even find a picture of a closet that was messy enough to even compare it to.

Ohhh…you think I’m kidding. Bless your hearts.

You will see. After I’m done of course. :)

So that’s my plan for the Great Fall Clean Up at the TDC house.

I only have one more week of my sis’s help. I’m under the gun. But I am determined to get our WHOLE house under control before the holidays hit. And this time, they will stay that way – I have absolutely no doubt in my mind.

And just so you don’t think I’ve completely lost my organizing mojo, our linen closets still look like this:

And the space under my bathroom sink still looks like this:

So BOO to the YAH. I still go it. :)

Is there a space that is putting you over the edge? Have you been avoiding it all year? Can you walk into your closet to get dressed every morning without risking your life?

**Putting Sister to Work Disclaimer**

At no time has Stink Eye been subjected to poor work conditions or held against her will. She has been fed well with McDonald’s fries and other drive through goodness. She is also being paid handsomely for her time by TDC and Mr. TDC.

72 comments:

Your disclaimer cracks me up! I love your writing. I applaud your decrapification- I feel the same way about extra STUFF hanging around. Unfortunately, my husband does not. But that's why he has a man cave. LOL

I have nothing enlightening to say, except I almost spit my drink out when I saw the picture from Sanford and Son. Love it! I'm doing a Fall cleanup myself ... glad to know I'm in great company! Have fun. *Becca* (Adventures in Decorating)

Well, I am still laughing... That was just too funny & YES!! to all of your questions... so overwhelmed I don't know where to even begin... one of these days ....when the mood strikes or I can pay my sister to help.. : )

I could have written this post! Well not as good as you but the spaces needing attention are the same! I finished up the basement and have just a few things left in the garage. I also tackled the Master closet and removed lots of things out of there. It seems like a never ending process sometimes. Especially with the children and their things. Even though I limit what comes in. I took 5 F150 truck loads to the good will this summer and it felt so good! Posts like yours about STUFF have been so encouraging to keep going with the projects. Thank you!

Our garage is worse than yours, PROMISE! It's bad. Really, really bad. Ignored since we first moved in... boxes still packed with STUFF (that my husband will not get rid of), lumber for projects that have yet to be started (yet we've had lumber for months), UGH.

I did tackle the master closet and I'm pretty pleased with it... but the garage - I have no control.

We went through a similar situation this April when my mother-in-law suddenly passed away. She was a compulsive shopper and there was just so much STUFF. It took WEEKS to empty her 800 sq ft house. So, I've also been trying to declutter our home to in the hopes of avoiding that situation for our loved ones. It is challenging because I keep thinking "what if I need that someday?", but I am definitely making some headway. I'm trying to live by the motto, "If we don't love it, use it, or need it, it doesn't belong in our house". Good luck on your fall cleanse. I can't wait to see the before and afters!

I'm on a similar mission, though with a different motivation. Since I got back from Africa, and saw how little others have and how very much we have, I've been motivated to get rid of stuff to make room for using my house well, instead of storing things I'll never use.

My garage is so overwhelming we don't even go in it anymore! My pantry is spilling out onto the floor. A few weeks ago I was newly inspired to declutter my entire home but at 8 months pregnant it is proving to be much more difficult than I planned! I am almost done with 1 room though! Thanks for the motivation to make it through the garage...my biggest fear!

We clean out the garage last week. What a relief that was. The car still can't fit in there but I have lots of room to work on project now. The master closet is next. We put in a nice organizer and how I let it get this bad I do not know.

Oh and you should watch this bit George Carlin does about 'stuff'. Quite hilarious.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac&feature=related

But I just got on the buying cheap bandwagon and started buying all the cute things I see people in blogland buy:( and now almost everyone has the declutter bug and I never finished - ok even began - all those cutesy projects:) Boo hoo. My husband, however, thanks you! I, on the other hand, feel a little foolish giving things back to Goodwill that still have their original pricing on them! Good Luck with your decluttering. Guess I'll follow your lead and give it a try too! Thanks for the nudge!

I love decrapified spaces, and the satisfaction they bring... well done! I'm am organization junky myself, and I heard something once that has totally stuck over the years-- Being organized is not an event, it's a way of life.

So, kudos to you for keeping those spaces you've decluttered long ago still clean!

You funny girl. I think what you're doing is great, Americans have too much crap. It just ends up bogging us down. I have been doing what you're planning on doing my whole life. That said, it hasn't stopped my family from bringing in the crap. It's a daily job really, when you stop asking if you need it, guarantee it will start stacking up.

I seriously can't stop laughing. I don't know if it's because I identify so much or because you are just so darn funny. Don't get me started with the garage. nightmare. looks great for a week and then back to nightmare. don't even know where to begin! thanks for the humor!

The Sanford and Son pic was way too funny. I laughed so hard! I've been inspired by your decrapification and have cleaned out our hall closet and the crap that was on our master bedroom floor because it didn't have a home. I say, if it doesn't have a home, it's gone. It's very freeing!

Thanks for a great post...made me feel less alone hehe...so many places in need of a sortin lol...new house moved about 6months ago and still have unopened boxes and cupboards not properly arranged yetThanks from across the pond

I LOL'd when I read the word 'stink-eye'. It reminded me of the time I had Pink eye and my Hubby was calling it the 'Stink-eye'.. muahaha.

Anyways, my whole house is one big clutter disaster. Ive been so wanting to do some major Fall cleaning but I have been working the past 12 days straight [I have to do this once a month] and typically the weekend before my 12-day work marathon, all I want to do is relax and spend some quality time with my family... but now that I have my first weekend free AND it's a 3 day weekend on top of that... I am so game. Im ready to tackle this house, let's just hope it stays clutter free.... for at least until after Christmas lol.

First I want to say I am sorry for the loss of your Father in Law and I can't imagine how you have to deal with his things. Second, thank you for gently reminding me of my New Years Resolution...to scale down and simplify! With a recent move this resolution kind of went...well, somewhere??? I need to get back on the wagon!

Oh my...between the picture of Sanford and Son and the Disclaimer...I 'bout fell off my chair! Too funny.Thanks for sharing, the good the bad AND the UGLY! I am seeing our basement in those pictures and am determined once and for all to get it done so that our daughter can enjoy having a space for her friends. Thanks for the kick in the pants to finally...GET IT DONE!

Oh my gosh - you are hilarious! I know if I met you in person I'd be laughing my tooshy off. A friend of mine has a truly inspiring and practical blog: becomingminimalist.com - while I haven't gone totally minimalist I have simplified so much and it's the most liberating feeling evah!! You go girl!

Oh, to have a closet again! We have some wardrobes in one part of our foyer, but most of our storage takes place on our balconies which aren't good for much else than storing things. Right now, they seem messy because we're in the middle of a big furniture swap out at the embassy. We keep food on the one off the kitchen- we have to order bulk from our source if we want certain American foodies; I can't wait to come home and be able to go to one store and get everything I want weekly without a huge build-up! I hate clutter and that's what all of the boxes and shelves with food seems like to me.

I HAVE to ask about your pergola, though- we're dying to build one on our deck. The fabric on it makes it look like one they were selling at Target last season- is that where you got it? And did you attach it to your deck somehow or is it just freestanding? We can have some occasional extreme weather, so I'm thinking we'll definitely need to attach ours...

Ain't it the truth, girl! No seriously, all it takes is having to clear out someone else's STUFF and it sure makes you look at your own. I am much older than you, so I have sadly done this for my inlaws, and now working on my parents....and OH so don't want this for my precious boys and their wives! YOu are correct...sure keeps your shopping to a minimum!

I'm jealous. My sisters live too far away to force them into indentured servitude and my sister-in-law - well, the Sanford & Son pic? That's tame compared to her house. I really don't think I could hire her to clean/organize because I don't think she understands what it means. The last time I went to her home she invited us to dinner to show off her new and improved clean living room and kitchen. There was a PATH. A path through the CRAP. I am not kidding. It was like an episode of Hoarders. I won't go there anymore.

But yes, I have horrifying spaces of my own. I would kill for a hand from the hubs in cleaning out the garden shed (aka the pool shed). Between the pool supplies, the gardening supplies, the junk left by the previous owner that never got hauled away, and my packrat husband's own additions (like a bicycle with no seat that he "rescued" six years ago to "fix up") I can't actually get IN there to get stuff. Unfortunately most of it needs to be hauled out to the in-laws' burn pit and that requires the hubs and his handy-dandy pickup truck. And so it'll probably never be decrapified and someday we'll die and our children will go through it and wonder, "Why did Mom and Dad have three rusted out bicycles missing key parts, a tension-rod plant bar, a broken table, and a piece of plywood with the outline of a human spray painted on it?" (Not kidding about that last. Relic of the former owner. Looks like a 4' X 8' piece of plywood, painted black, and then a child laid on it and somebody spray painted the kid white, so there's this little white-outlined human silhouette on it. Mysterious.)

Ha! You had me ROLLING laughing so hard!!!! Whole House is sending me over the edge- check. I have been avoiding it ALL year- check. I can't go to the closet to get dressed without risking my life- check. (Therefore I don't. I just search through what has been recently washed and still in the laundry basket- check!!!!)

So my new routine is to go through ONE small area a day as to not get overwhelmed. I'm an all or nothing person normally, and I need to kick the habit! There is a small bit of calm starting to take shape in the midst of the chaos....and let me tell you- your post has given me new life to keep going!! Lurve ya!

I love your humor! It makes the painful truth easier to bear! :) I have a basement with boxes from our latest move scattered everywhere. Where to start... And I hate that organizing seems to cost money- need shelves and bins. And more shelves and bins. I know, excuses, excuses- sigh.

Our PANTRY!!!!!!!!! For real, I can't for the life of me get it the way I want it... ARGH! Technically, it's not really a pantry - we have plenty of cabinet space in the kitchen... but there is the random small room just off the kitchen beside the laundry room.... It houses our hot-water heater & small chest freezer & chrome shelves for big applicances (KitchenAid, crockpot, etc)... and then how all the OTHER CRAP ends up in there............

SIGH - PANTRY!!!!!!!!!!!! I think my blood pressure just went up thinking about it...

"Decrapify." That's my new vocab word. I need to decrapify several spaces...mainly my kids' rooms. I forced them to watch an episode of Hoarders the other day....my daughter was swearing to clean her room every day and my son was crying and kept saying "turn it off! turn it off!" Tough love.

girl you crack me up!! My younger sister use to live with us before she got married- and let me tell you- I put her to work with all kinds of re-organizing jobs (b/c lets be honest -she was GOOD at it-me....not so much). Well now that she is married and has her own home she has informed me "I owe her". LOL!!! payback....... *sigh*

As for your closet- Im pretty sure I could have gone toe to toe with you on that one. It took me quite a while to get mine under control and I still have to beat the clothes monster with a stick sometimes. I keep an open invite with the "Purple Heart" truck in our area. They come out once a month. :-0

Can I just say how much I love the way you write. I love what you share but by the way you write I feel I have come to know you and that we are close friends. It's such a joy to read your blog each day and I save it till last because it's like sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate and sharing with you the best part of my day.

You call that messy?!! I have a 3 car garage that is so full of stuff we can't even walk, let alone consider putting even one car in it (not to mention over-stuffed closets, crammed rooms, storage containers everywhere...). I've always been thrifty and handy and used to keep things to fix one day (reupholster, mend, repurpose, lose weight and fit into again...). I used to be a semi-professional interior decorator, which is why it's so humiliating to look at my house now.

I have a tiny sewing room (and a huge area outside it) that I consolidated from a bigger room when we adopted a couple of special needs teens - I can't make myself throw away any of the fabric or stuff, even though I haven't had time to sew in years and the stuff is totally visible in a main part of the house.

My little sister recently remarried and when she and her new husband (and their combined total of 5 kids) moved to a new house they got rid of a lot of their old furniture - most of which was beautiful and in better shape than mine so I took it, but I can't seem to get rid of my old stuff so we're even more cluttered than before!

You and the new beautiful furniture have inspired me to do some decluttering, rearranging and staging, so parts of the house are looking nice, but I can't seem to get rid of the underlying "stuff" since - I might need it, I have to sort it, I don't know how/where to get rid of it (what do you do with a disgusting old double bed mattress set?)... I vowed never to have a garage sale again since I still have scars from the last one (literally).

I am slowly getting rid of some things. My car is full of garbage bags of stuff destined for the thrift store, but there is so much more that needs to be sorted and cleaned before I could even take it to the thrift store.

I'm going to keep reading your blog and hope it continues to inspire me to declutter!

I SO need to do some decrapifying in our apartment too. We have a very small space for the 5 of us, and it's not going to change any time soon. Our closets and dressers are overflowing, the linen closet and laundry closet are disasters, and the garage.....yikes. I'M GONNA DO IT!! Thanks for the inspiration!

Boo to the yah was the best I am so coping that one! On a serious note I have done the same thing only it was my mother's stuff I realized I never want my kids to go through all of the scrap ribbon and cards someone had sent me while going through grief. Puts a whole new spin on life, it has been 8 years and when I go to put something away it is always on my mind. Now on to your sister she doesn't work weekends right?? ;)

Let's see... you can open just about any one of my closets and stuff just spills out. I don't open the closets very often. This has inspired me to pick two closets this weekend & de-crapify. We have just stuff. While like you, I really like stuff, we just don't need quite this much stuff. Thanks for the inspiration.

I've been away from my computer most of this week, so I'm just catching up on some reading. I love your Halloween stairs! So cute--I'll bet the Bubs really loves them! And I'm wishing I had a stink-eye sister to hire for a few days of help around here. Sounds like you're making great progress!

I had out of town company this week, which was wonderful because I got my house clean (at least if you don't look behind closet doors). With a clean kitchen, I was able to participate in the "Show Us Your Life" party at Kelly's Korner. I gave credit to you as the inspiration behind my faux Roman shades! Thank you for all the inspiration you give me!

You are too funny! I cracked up while I read this post! But oh man can I relate! We moved into a bigger house last year, I think hubby thinks bigger means you can get more stuff to cram in it! I'm working on de-cluttering and organizing it, but as you said, it can be an overwhelming task at times. Great job though your house is looking good. So....when you're done with your house, wanna come do my garage? No? Oh well, it was worth a try!

I sort of want to start singing "It's the most wonderful time of the yearrrrr" when I see your organizational stuff. I remember the pictures of the garage last year so I'm really excited to see all your work this year!!!

Have you ever heard of FlyLady?? You should check her out. I'm sorry, but I totally LOL's about your deck. Ours is a complete and utter embarrasment. I am SO glad we don't have neighbors because I'd be so ashamed. Tomorrow is my son's bday party, and lots of people are going to be here, so I've been SLOWLY working on it. Seriously, I still have a laundry basket of shoes right outside the door. I have our old DISHWASHER (!!!! oh the shame), pool toys, my miter saw sitting on the old kitchen bar, an extension cord. It's an abomination. You are not alone, my friend.

I almost spit my WINE out reading this!!!! The operative word being ALMOST:):):) I can so identify. I try constantly to GET RID OF CRAP (translated: my husbands stuff) and he can NOT let stuff go. OY! It is a never ending battle. Yesterday we were actually cleaning out one of the closets ion the garage, he foud some gutter guard that we can't us so I said "pitch it", his response: "but we paid money for it".....yes, that is what we all deal with:):) My poor children will need therapy when we die!!!!!!!!! XO, Pinky

I can relate to "I don’t want my stepdaughter and our son to have to do go through all of the STUFF in our house when we’re gone one day." My elderly neighbor's family just went through her home and they threw out enough stuff to fill three dumpsters. It was very sad and depressing to me.

A few years ago we showed up for a visit with my hubby's grandfather and found out that he had decided to put the house on the market, have an auction, and move to Indy to be with family. We had just over 24hrs to go thru an entire house/garage full of 40yrs worth of stuff - eek!! And we had a 5mo old baby with us. Crazy weekend. Like you, I now look at our stuff in a whole new way. We've done some major decrapification at our house over the last few months and it has been wonderful.

A few years ago we showed up for a visit with my hubby's grandfather and found out that he had decided to put the house on the market, have an auction, and move to Indy to be with family. We had just over 24hrs to go thru an entire house/garage full of 40yrs worth of stuff - eek!! And we had a 5mo old baby with us. Crazy weekend. Like you, I now look at our stuff in a whole new way. We've done some major decrapification at our house over the last few months and it has been wonderful.

I'm a new follower...my 21 year old daughter said I'd love you and I do! :0) You are too cute for words. Anyway....LOVE your new bedroom! Love the colors, the style, the everything. And just saw your duvet at Target...HOW IN THE WORLD DO THOSE THINGYS WORK?? Do I have to buy a new comforter or just put it over the one I have? Help please! Fell in love with the colors in yours! Really enjoying your blog! You are my kind of girl...Loving your frugal I can do it style!Blessings,Tanya

And if we get real crazy we'll get to the basement. I know, it's a little much. You only have me for one more week though! So let's roll up our sleeves, put on the latex gloves, buy a case of bud light (for me :)) and get to in lady. Oh P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! (tomorrow)

I so understand your need to de-clutter. My parents are still with us, thank God. But the house is disturbing, they have so much stuff!! I wonder what it will be like when they are gone and my brother and husband have to help me go through it all. SO, when we recently found out we were reloating, we downsized BIG TIME. Yes, we got a smaller house but we got rid of more junk than you can imagine that I would have told you we "needed". I don't miss any of it. I only wish I could encourage my parents to do the same. The freedom and fresh feeling of having it all more compact, more organized is amazing.

Oh man, I dunno where you live, but I would LOVE to get paid helping someone de-crapify (LOL) her house, do some errands, file papers, etc. I'm not kidding!! I applied for a job in the classifieds one for something like that once, but they never got back to me. Dream job for me! I beg friends to help them organize their closets/rooms, etc. I'm not kidding. lol. (I need help!) ;-)

Funny I should read this on the very day I FINALLY made great headway on some things. I cleaned out my clothes closet *Ugh*. We've certainly got a lot of spare hangers now! By all calculations, I should have the entire house cleaned by, say, 2020.

When I need a good laugh I ALWAYS come to your blog. You are so funny and I wish I knew you IRL. I am a total organizing freak. I just can't remember where I put important stuff because I am always reorganizing. Oh well. Every time I can't find something my husband needs. He will always say I threw it away.

Just discovered your blog today! My compliments, you're a very interesting and creative writer! One question....where did all the clutter under the bathroom sink GO??? Where's the extra TP, cleaning supplies& all that necessary stuff. I only have a couple drawers and 1 cabinet but would love, love a nice clean spot under sink to put the hair dryer!! How do I get there from here?